'Safe House'

Universal

Universal

Jay BobbinZap2It

Denzel Washington excels at playing characters who don't wear everything on their sleeves, and he has another in this effective, well-paced melodrama about a rogue CIA man forced into hiding by his shady connections.

The fellow agent (Ryan Reynolds) assigned to guard him thinks the mission will be by the book ... but that quickly proves otherwise, sending both men on the run for their lives in an uneasy alliance. Vera Farmiga, Sam Shepard and Brendan Gleeson co-star. DVD extras: four "making-of" documentaries. *** (R: P, V) (Also on Blu-ray and Movies on Demand)